This luxurious recipe for pasta with buttered tomato sauce makes the most of fresh veggies and herbs for a delectable meatless supper!
Jump to:
Why we love this recipe
Oh, this pasta and its luxurious tomato butter sauce! It’s the perfect dish to make when it is mid-summer and the basil and local tomatoes have us surrounded.
However! Due to the fact that cherry tomatoes mysteriously keep their delectably sweet tomato all year around, AND the fact that you can usually now find basil in your produce section at any time of year, it’s perfectly possible to have this deliciousness in, say, February.
Yep, happily this recipe is speedy and delicious and totally doable 365 days per year. Let’s make it!
Ingredients you need
- Olive Oil
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Garlic
- Short Pasta (Penne, Campanelle, etc)
- Butter (of course!)
- Cream
- Basil
- Salt and Pepper
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
How to make this recipe
STEP 1: Heat a couple of tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté a cup and a half of halved cherry tomatoes along with a couple cloves of peeled and minced garlic until tomatoes just start to break down, about 5 minutes.
STEP 2: Meanwhile, cook 10 ounces of pasta in salted water according to package directions – you can use any kind, but we like short pasta like bowties or campanelle for this recipe because it works best with the chunky sauce. Drain the pasta and add to skillet with tomatoes.
STEP 3: Stir in 4 tablespoons of butter and a half cup of cream until the butter is melted and everything is heated through. Taste and season with salt and fresh ground pepper.
STEP 4: Remove from heat and toss with a half cup or so of chopped fresh basil. Ladle it into bowls, grind on some fresh pepper and serve it up!
Recipe FAQs
You can! We love cherry tomatoes because they magically keep their tomato flavor even when tomato season is (sob!) over, but regular tomatoes will work just fine – just chop them into cherry tomato-sized chunks.
Yep! You can 3 tablespoons of butter and 1/3 cup of cream – it won’t be as dreamily creamy, but it will still be scrumptious!
Yes, with a couple of guidelines! Definitely use cherry tomatoes, which are flavorful all year round, and if you can’t find basil out of season in your supermarket, fresh thyme or oregano or even parsley will give it a nice herb flavor.
Pop your question in the comments below and I will answer pronto!
Want to round out your meal?
We love adding and extra veggie or two to the side of most pasta dishes, and this rustic tomato and goat cheese salad is just the ticket.
And for dessert, let’s make chocolate haystack cookies!
Other pasta and veggie recipes we love
Hurray for pasta and butter and tomatoes! Happy sigh.
Could you leave us a review?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.
Pasta with Buttered Tomato Sauce
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star
5 from 1 review
This luxurious recipe for pasta with buttered tomato sauce makes the most of fresh veggies and herbs for a delectable summer supper!
- Author: Kate Morgan Jackson
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved (or regular sized tomatoes, chopped into one inch pieces)
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 10 ounces short pasta (penne, campanelle, bowties, etc)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup cream
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté tomatoes and garlic until tomatoes just start to break down, about 5 minutes.
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Drain and add to skillet with tomatoes.
- Stir in butter and cream until the butter is melted and everything is heated through. Taste and season with salt and fresh ground pepper.
- Remove from heat and toss with basil. Serve, grinding a little more pepper on top if you like!
Makayla says
Love how this is a gentler tomato flavor than a red sauce but still such nice flavors. Will definitely be making again!
Kate Morgan Jackson says
Hi Makayla and yes! Fresh tomato sauces are so scrumptious. :)